Quantum computing raises a real threat to cryptography, and slow motion governance processes are at risk of leaving vulnerable blockchains, according to Colton Dillion, co -founder of Quip Network, which provides quantum test vaults to store digital assets.
While technology, which uses the quantum states of subatomic particles to perform calculations instead of transistors and binary code, is still in their childhood, companies such as Google and Microsoft are moving forward with research and development. The objective is a massive increase in the speed that makes difficult calculations such as cracked encryption, such as the one used to protect blockchains, faster and faster.
And when quantum computing is available, it is unlikely that any attacker announce its presence immediately.
“The threat will not start with the keys of Satoshi stolen,” Dillion said in an interview. “The true quantum attack will look subtle, quiet and gradual, like whales that move funds. For when everyone realizes what is happening, it will be too late.”
Dillion’s Doomsday scenario implies a double expenditure of quantum operation. In theory, quantum computing could reduce the mining power required for a traditional 51% attack to approximately 26%, Dillion said.
“So now it has committed the 10,000 largest wallets. Rebobalizes the chain, liquidate those 10,000 larger wallets, then spend two transactions, and now it really has a nuclear bomb,” it’s how it imagines it.
The industry, of course, is working to find a solution.
Bitcoin Agustin Cruz developer, for example, proposed QRAMP, a Bitcoin (BIP) improvement proposal that requires a hard bag migration to quantum security addresses. The BTQ Quantum Startup has proposed to replace the work test consensus system that supports the original block chain completely with a quantum native consensus.
The problem is that the proposals must obtain the approval of the community. Blockchain governance, such as Bitcoin’s improvement proposals (BIPs) and its Ethereum equivalents, proposals to improve Ethereum (EIPS), tend to be plagued by politics, which makes it a long and inherently cautious process.
For example, the recent resolution of the Bitcoin community in the OP_RETURN function was years of creation, with months of developer debates about what is considered the “adequate” use of the block chain. Ethereum updates, such as fusion, also faced long debates and delays.
Dillion argues that the governance process leaves crypto dangerously exposed because quantum computing threats will evolve much faster than the protocols can answer.
“Everyone tries to do this from top to bottom starting with a BIP or an EIP and gathering everyone the purchase of all. But we believe that this is a very difficult and heavy elevator,” he said.
Quip Network’s proof vaults aimed to avoid political inertia by allowing immediate adoption at the user level without requiring protocol updates. The vaults take advantage of hybrid cryptography, combine classical cryptographic standards with quantum quantity to provide agnostic safety of blockchain.
Indeed, they allow whales, headlines of large amounts of a cryptocurrency, ensure their high while waiting for the Blockchain governance machinations to gather it. Cryptographic communities cannot afford quiet debates, he argues.
“BIP and EIP processes are excellent for governance, but terrible for the rapid response to the threat,” Dillion said. “When Quantum arrives, the attackers will not wait for the consensus of the community.”
Colton Dillon is talking at the IEEE Canada Blockchain Forum, part of the 2025 consensus in Toronto. The IEEE is a knowledge partner of consensus.
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